Perception
by Neurochemical
Summary: AU. Maka lives in a world where only the few evolved have abilities like soul perception. Her mother warned her to keep her gift a secret at all costs, but she's been gone for 6 years. When Maka meets a mysterious boy named Soul and his little sister shares her gift, Maka has to decide whether to ignore who she is, or enter the dangerous world her mother fought to protect her from.
1. Intro

**A/N Hello there. Well, it certainly has been a while. I've been thinking about this storyline for a while, now. I've decided to go ahead and write it up. I've been reading a lot of stories that are corrupt-governmenty, so this story is an ode to those. I hope you enjoy it.**

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_My Dearest Maka,_

_I know you are probably very angry at me for leaving you. Believe me, this decision has been the hardest of my life. Please know that I will find you again one day, after I have done what needs to be done. But that is not what this letter is about. Maka, sweetie, I'm going to tell you a story. Back when I was a little girl, our government discovered something about its people. We were changing...well, genetically. I know you might not understand what that means yet, but you will when you're a bit older. People were developing new abilities. Some were able to do things you've read in stories, like move things with their minds or become extra strong. Others could even mutate themselves into objects. Honey, you know how you've told me you could see colors around people sometimes? I know I always hushed you, but the truth is, you have an ability, too. It will become much clearer as you grow up. I have it too, and it can be very useful. But Maka, I need you to do something for me, even though I do not deserve it. I need you to never tell anyone about your gift. Do not talk to Daddy about it. He knows you have it, but it is still not safe. There are some bad people out there who will try to hurt you if they find out you have an ability. One day, you will find a group who will help you, but until then, please try to live a normal life. That is the best thing you can do for me. I love you so very much, Maka. _

_ Mom_

_P.S. Dont forget to take care of Willie! You know how he likes to make meses for papa Albarne :-)_

I re-read the letter for what feels like the thousandth time, rubbing my thumb over the ink. The last memento I have of my mother. Even though she left six years ago, I can still remember with painful clarity the image of my father sitting at the kitchen table, his head in his hands, crying quietly and handing me a letter. At first I was very confused. Mostly, I just cried for my mom to come home. After that first week, Dad got himself out of bed and returned to work at Chupa Cabra's, the bar he owned with Mom. Since then, we haven't spoken about her.

I sigh and get up for the day, even though it's only 5 AM. I know I won't be able to fall back asleep, anyway. Outside my window, the sky is a dark grey, only the very horizon dusted with pink. I pull on my school uniform and put my blonde hair up in my standard pigtails. It's the way Mom always used to style it for me. As I pass through the living room, I find my dad passed out on the sofa, his bright red hair falling over his face. As always, there's a deep pink light glowing around him; a glow I alone can see. He probably only got back from the bar a few hours ago. I sigh and pull a blanket over him. On my way out the door, I grab a pop-tart and my school bag. _If I get to school early enough, I can read in the library for a while._

It's the beginning of September, but in Death City it still feels like summer. The dry vegetation blows in a soft breeze as I pass the yards of my neighbors. At the end of the block is Dry Palm Daycare, our suburb's daycare center. I break into a smile when I see Tsubaki outside, changing the letters on the front sign. "Hey, Tsu!" I call, waving.

She turns around to face me and grins as well. "Maka! What are you doing out so early?"

I step up on to the front yard where Tsubaki stands. She's got her black hair back in a ponytail, as per usual, and wears a light yellow dress down to her ankles. The dress matches the faint yellow glow that surrounds her. Her dark eyes glitter in the rising sunlight.

I consider myself a loner, since I don't have a group of friends. But Tsubaki and I have known each other since we were kids, when we went to Dry Palm Daycare ourselves. Tsubaki has always made a note to find me at school and eat lunch with me, even stop by my house with dinner every once in a while. If I had a best friend, she'd be it.

I shrug casually at her question. "Couldn't sleep. Figured I'd head to school early and rent a few books."

She laughs and shakes her head. "Our first day of junior year and you're already hitting the books hard."

"Yeah, well, I was running out of good things to read at the neighborhood library." I laugh too. "Anyway," I continue, "you still want me to help here after school, right?"

Tsubaki perks up even more. "If you could, that would be awesome! We've got ten new kids enrolling for the fall, as well as the twenty we already know and love." She cringes slightly.

Tsubaki's parents own the daycare, so she and I have helped out since we were old enough. Currently, we've got quite some rascals enrolled here. She and I spent all summer chasing them down and cleaning up after them.

I whistle. "So there'll be thirty now? That's a full class for this neighborhood. Of course, I'll help you." Tsubaki squeals and hugs me. "Thanks, Maka, you're the best!"

I wait for her to finish putting the letters on the sign, then we head off to school together. When I'm with Tsubaki, it's easier to forget how much I miss my mother, or how I have a secret that I can't share with anyone. It's easier to pretend I'm living a normal life, like she wanted.

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**A/N So upon editing/re-reading, the chapter length seems a little short? I can never tell what a good chapter length is! Please let me know with a REVIEW! heh. See what I did there. This story should be a long one, though. I've got so much in store for you all :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. I

The first day of my junior year passes by rather uneventfully. Most teachers spend all of class taking roll call and giving us lists of rules and supplies we'll need. I take careful notes and try to ignore the colors surrounding my new teachers. It's not like I understand them, anyway.

After school, I meet up with Tsubaki and we walk to the daycare together. She rattles on about her new classes and teachers. I'm only half-listening to her talk about a mysterious new boy with bright blue hair and an extremely loud voice when she adds, "and the weirdest part is, he's SO strong! Like, he's in my gym class, and we had a free period for the day, and he just went into the weight room and lifted the biggest weights like it was nothing! He was also really good at basketball, and-"

"Wait," I cut her off, frowning. "He was that strong?" The largest bench press weights are far too heavy for any one person to lift alone, unless they had been training for years. But a _junior in high school_?

"Yes!" Tsubaki gushes, "He-" I look into Tsubaki's eyes then, and feel a flood of warmth throughout my body as the glow around her tinges pink. I cut her off again, distracted by the feeling. "You really like him, don't you?"

She blushes and sputters, "H-how did you know?!"

I smirk, "It's written all over your face." But it really isn't. I mean, she looks excited, maybe, but I only know she has a crush because of the feeling I got. It happens sometimes, with Tsubaki or my dad. It's connected to my gift, I just don't really know how or why.

She turns to look at the ground. "You can read me too well. Maybe I _am_ a little infatuated..."

I laugh lightly and give her a pat on the shoulder. Tsubaki has had plenty of crushes throughout the years. Of the two of us, she is definitely the more amorous. I, on the other hand, have had very little experience with crushes other than what I read in my books. I'm rarely fascinated by boys the way Tsubaki seems to be. Sometimes I wonder if my gift prevents me from being close to other people.

"...Earth to Maka. Hey," Tsubaki taps me on the head, shaking me from my thoughts. "You in there? We're here." And she's right. We're already at Dry Palm, and Tsubaki's mother is out front, ushering us to her. I decide to ponder Tsubaki's crush later. We've got to focus on the rascals now.

Tsubaki's mom briefs us on the new children, and tells us they'll be coming off the buses over the course of the next hour. Most of their parents will come to pick them up before 6.

Mrs. Nakatsukasa claps her hands together and smiles at me specifically. "Thank you, Maka, for agreeing to help with this! When all the children have gone, you're welcome to come eat dinner with us!"

I smile up at her. Tsubaki's mom looks just like Tsubaki, with black hair cut to her shoulders and dark eyes that gleam when she smiles. She also has the same yellow color surrounding her, one that makes me feel warm and at ease. I agree to eat dinner with them and then the first bus full of children pours in.

I recognize the kids at the front of the group, walking confidently since they've been here before. Then come the kindergarteners and transfers, unsure of themselves as they look around their new surroundings. One little girl in particular catches my eye. She's got white blond hair that's put in haphazard pigtails and strange blue violet eyes. She's got a light violet glow to her, one I've never seen before. She's walking behind the other children, clearly uncomfortable. I smile and head over to her, kneeling down to her height.

"Hi there. I'm Ms. Maka. What's your name?"

She smiles tentatively and says, "Hi, I'm Rosalie." Her voice is clear and high, like ringing bells. Something about her makes me want to hug her.

"Hi, Rosalie. What a pretty name. Let's go outside with the other children, okay?" She nods a little and I take her hand, pulling her forward.

The other kids are all crowding Tsubaki at the back entrance, and squeal at me when I join them. "Ms. Maka!" they shout.

Rosalie and I enter the circle and I wave to all of them. "Hey guys! I'd like you all to meet Rosalie. She'll be playing with you all this year." They all greet Rosalie, and a few of them offer up their names, too. Tsubaki and I smile at their complete accepting nature.

We all head outside, and most of the kids crowd around the activity they want to do. Some head to the sandbox, others to the swing set. Tsubaki and I get caught up in other affairs when suddenly we hear a crack and a wail.

We turn to see a few of the boys holding sticks, looking guilty. One of the little devils, Max, just looks like he's trying not to laugh. Off in a corner sits Rosalie, crying and holding her hand over her arm. One of the boys' sticks must have slipped. Tsubaki heads over to scold the boys (they can find ways to make weapons out of _anything_, it seems) and I run over to Rosalie.

I bend down and pet her head to soothe her, then ask to see her arm. She sniffs and lets her hand off it to reveal a small bleeding gouge. "Okay, let's go inside. I can clean it and put a band-aid on it. It's not that bad, I promise."

Rosalie nods and holds out her hand to me. We head inside.

.

Rosalie sits on a counter with a sink, watching me as I concentrate on her wound. She flinches when I clean it, but otherwise doesn't react at all. For a small child, she's incredibly tough. While I work, I ask, "So, Rosalie, how old are you?"

"Eight," she replies.

"So you're in third grade then? How was your first day of school?" I ask.

"It was fun. Ms. Marie gave us all seats and we got to decorate our name tags! And we're gonna learn cursive this year, which is _very_ important. Ms. Marie says we're gonna use it forever." I smile and think, _they're still telling kids that?_

Then Rosalie does something that makes me freeze all over. She reaches out to touch me, but moves her hand to wave around to the side of my arm. Her eyebrows furrow, like she can see something, but not feel it. It's exactly what I used to do to my mom when I first started seeing the glows around people.

"...Rosalie?" I ask, and she snaps her eyes back to mine, pulling her arm back to her side. "Are you all right?"

"Sure!" she nods, hopping off the counter. "Let's go back outside," she adds, holding her hand out to me once again. I shake off the memory and follow the mysterious girl back out.

.

At 6:00, the last of the parents have come to pick up their kids. Tsubaki stops Max's dad to talk about what Max did today, and I feel uneasy when I look at him.

Rosalie is the last one left. Tsubaki's mom comes out of her office and announces she's headed home to start on dinner. Tsubaki offers to stay with me, but I wave her off.

"You need to go home and help your mom. Don't worry, I've got it here. I'm just waiting on Rosalie's..." I trail off, suddenly realizing we don't have a file for Rosalie. I'm not sure if it'll be her mother or father that comes to get her.

Tsubaki grins at me. "All right. Come on by after you've locked up here, then!" She heads out after her mom.

Then it's just me and Rosalie. "So, kiddo, what do you want to do?"

She thinks for a second. "Would you read me a story?" she asks hopefully.

We head over to the bookshelf and she picks out a book about trains. Traditionally a boy's pick, but I'm not too surprised. As I read, I notice she's looking at the words just as much as the pictures, which most kids don't do at all. She's even mouthing words along with me at points. She's so much like me that I'm astounded.

We're halfway through the book before I hear the door open. Rosalie and I both look toward the door, where a tall boy around my age with blinding white hair and startling red eyes gazes around the room. I have to suppress a gasp when I see him. Not only are his features exceedingly strange, he is strikingly handsome. One of his hands sits lazily in his leather jacket pocket; the other holds a folder of some sort. Rosalie jumps up immediately and runs to hug him. "Soul!" she says.

_Soul?_ Is that his...name? Is he Rosalie's dad? No, I realize, he must be her brother. Where are her parents? Even stranger, when I walk up to meet him, I finally see the color that glows around him. It is a deep burgundy; just like his sister, I've never seen this specific glow around anyone before.

He coughs awkwardly, and I realize I've been staring. I can feel myself blush as I look back up into his eyes. _What is wrong with me right now?_ I shove out a hand toward him. "Hello, I'm Maka, Rosalie's daycare provider. And you are...?"

"I'm Soul," he states bluntly, his gaze on me unwavering. He doesn't shake my hand, so I slowly let it drop. He seems bored and slightly annoyed, but his voice, like Rosalie's, is smooth and melodic. He thrusts the folder in his hand at me. "This oughta cover everything for enrollment." As he talks, I get a glimpse at his teeth, some of which look _extremely_ sharp.

The next thing I know, he's shuffling away, taking Rosalie with him. She sighs up at her brother's rude behavior as if she's used to it, then turns to wave goodbye at me. "Bye, Ms. Maka! See you tomorrow~"

_At least she's polite, _I grumble._ What is _up _with that guy?_

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**A/N Ahh yes, I admit grumbly Soul is my favorite Soul. SO this will be my first story with a major OC, but GOSH the thought of Soul having a little sister was too good for me to resist. UUUUGggghhh just imagine him picking her up and taking her little girl dress shopping and trying to do her hair *_* it's too much. Haha. Oh right, this is an author's note. So YES, please let me know how you feel about the new character (don't worry, the rest of the gang will be introduced soon enough!) and about the story in general.**

**And thanks for reading!**


	3. II

**A/N Thanks to everyone who's reviewed/fav'd/alerted so far! This one's for you guys B)**

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Once Soul and Rosalie leave, I open the folder Soul handed me. Inside is the standard enrollment forms, along with vaccination information. The enrollment application confirms what I suspected, that Soul is Rosalie's brother. Other than that, very little is filled in. I roll my eyes. _Come on. How enigmatic must this guy be?_ Then I notice the cash in the folder. I furrow my brows. Usually the parents write out a monthly check for the daycare service. But as I count the bills, I realize this is more than enough for the entire year. I gasp. Maybe this guy is into some shady stuff. Why else would he avoid giving out personal information and pay in all cash? I imagine Rosalie sitting in some dirty apartment while Soul is off dealing in a dark alley and cringe.

.

For the rest of the night, I can't get Rosalie and her mysterious brother off my mind. I'm distracted all throughout dinner at the Nakatsukasa's, and for the walk home. When I get inside, I find a note from my dad.

_Maka,_

_Long night at Chupy's ahead. I hope your first day went well! Dinner in the fridge if you didn't eat at Tsu's. See you tomorrow. Love you._

_ Dad_

My dad, Spirit, works a lot now that Mom isn't here to help run things. The bar they started has become something of a nightclub in the heart of Death City. My mom resented the club-like atmosphere and tried to keep the bar's integrity in tact, but once she was gone, Dad let it devolve into a rather seedy joint. He never says anything about it, but I have a sneaking suspicion he did it because of the drastic increase of money that came from the changes. I've only been inside Chupa Cabra's a few times, because I hate the feelings I get from the largely male population of customers inside. But Dad has work parties here at home every once in a while, and the staff all seem decent enough. The manager, Blair, has been around for a few years now, and treats me like a sister. I love her, even though she can be pretty clingy and _horribly_ inappropriate.

Once I'm finally in bed for the night, I reach for my mother's letter in the secret drawer of my nightstand, where it's been hidden since I got it. Recently, parts of the letter have been bothering me. Once I had read it enough to get over the crippling sadness I felt, I was able to start analyzing what my mother had told me. I try to grasp what story she was telling me. It seems like she wanted to say a lot more than she actually did. I'm sure she was in a rush when she wrote it, but why? That's always the question I'm left with. Where did she go? What does my gift mean, and is there anyone that can help me, like she said? But how am I supposed to know if I can trust them? My head spins and I groan in frustration. I never get anywhere with this letter. Then there's the post script.

…_.me. I love you so very much, Maka. _

_ Mom_

_P.S. Dont forget to take care of Willie! You know how he likes to make meses for papa Albarne :-)_

Willy was the name of our golden retriever. I say _was_ because presumably, Mom took him with her when she left. He was with us before she left, and then gone. So why would she ask me to take care of him? Unless she changed her mind and took him after writing the letter. There's also the blatant spelling and grammatical errors. Mom never misspelled _anything_. She was even more of a grammar freak than I am. Suddenly I realize she might have written it like this on purpose. _Isn't it standard procedure to hide codes in these sorts of things?_

My heartbeat quickens as I quickly rush to pull out a pen, circling the errors in the letter. First, the missing apostrophe in Don't. Then, she misspelled Willy. An error nobody would pick up on except me, because I'm the one who named him and went with her to have his dog tag made. Lastly, meses and the misspelling of our own last name. I put together the words. It doesn't make sense. Maybe the letters that are missing? Still nothing. It could be the first letter of each word in question. DWMA. Could that mean something? An acronym? A group?

I groan again. Maybe I got too excited about this code thing, and Mom just made the errors because she was rushed. I grudgingly put away the letter and lay in bed, trying to let sleep take over. It takes a while, with all the odd things that happened today. I finally doze off, a pair of blood red eyes in my mind's eye.

.

Tuesday comes, and I head into school, bleary-eyed and yawning. I did not get enough sleep last night. My first class is Advanced Literature, and I slump down in my assigned seat. Instantly, though, I perk up when a blur of bright blue passes through the door. It's a boy I've never seen before. He's wearing a black wife beater and his arms are_ huge._ Is this the boy Tsubaki was talking about? He takes a seat in the row in front of me, grumbling. The teacher asks his name. He straightens.

"I am the great Black Star!"

Several of our classmates giggle. _Is this guy for real? He _is _loud._ The teacher asks why he wasn't present yesterday. At this, he falters.

"I...uh. Had some problems, at...home. There was a _misunderstanding._" He spits the last word. The teacher looks at him dubiously but decides to start class instead of wasting more time on it. Black Star sighs in relief and I swear I hear him grumble "..going to kill Kid".

All in all, I have no idea what Tsubaki sees in him. Then again, I almost never do. When I relax and settle my gaze on Black Star's head, I almost jump at the glow I see. How did I not see it as soon as he walked in the door? It's _huge. _It extends much farther out than most people's, and is extremely bright blue, like his hair. It also leaves a distinctive feeling within me. Confidence. This boy's glow _screams_ confidence. I sigh and rub my eyes, looking away. I've been seeing some really strange glows lately. First with Soul and Rosalie, then this Black Star. Is this what my mom was talking about when she said things would become clearer as I got older? Am I getting stronger, or are these people anomalies? It's getting harder and harder to ignore, whatever the case is.

I decide to watch them, as carefully as I can. _Is that your excuse to find out more about Soul?_ I blush a little at the thought. No, there's more to this ability, I'm sure of it. Maybe it's time I try to learn about it, even though my mother advised against it. I'm sick of ignoring it. My mom would understand.

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**A/N OoooooOOOo what's Maka gonna find out? When am I gonna be able to stop writing the word "glow" instead of "soul"?! Hahaha. So. Let's get this ball rollin, shall we?! I feel like the story started a tad slow, but I promise, once the action picks up it'll stay there! I'm trying to write this one a little more like a real book, I suppose :)**

**Pleaseeee, please review to let me know what you think about everything so far, or with any predictions you have! That stuff really does help me as a writer :)**

**And thanks for reading!**


	4. III

The rest of the day drags as I await work. Finally, school ends and Tsubaki and I can head to Dry Palm. Tsubaki remembers that I was left with Rosalie last night, and asks who came to pick her up. I pause, then decide to tell her about Soul. I trust Tsubaki. Plus, it's not like I have anything to hide on that subject, yet.

"Her brother came to get her. He was...strange," I start. She gestures for me to continue. "Well, he had the same white hair as Rosalie, bright red eyes, and his teeth... But, most importantly, he was _rude_. I've never gotten such a strange introduction before. He seemed, like, bored to be there. Yet I could tell from the way that Rosalie talked to him, she loves him a lot. So is he a good guy, or not?" I wonder aloud. I stop, because Tsubaki is smiling at me slyly. "...What." I ask, deflated.

"Oh, it's nothing...I've just never heard you say so much about a boy before." She's still smiling at me in that way.

I scoff. "Well, it was very off-putting, the way he acted. I suppose he just rubbed me the wrong way."

Tsubaki nods. "Mm-hmmmm," she drags out the syllables. She's having none of it, but thankfully, she doesn't press the matter any further.

We're at the daycare now, and the time passes swiftly while we set up activities for the kids. It's supposed to rain today, so we have all the indoor stations prepared. Then, the kids have arrived. Rosalie is walking with a few other girls and smiling. I'm glad she's fitting in. The kids seem even more full of energy today than yesterday, if that's possible, and we struggle to keep a hold on them. One second I'm telling a group of girls that you can not, in fact, eat crayons, and then I'm rushing to stop a boy from opening the first aid cupboards.

Suddenly, I feel a pull on my sleeve, and it's Rosalie looking up at me. I let Tsubaki run after the kids for a minute, and kneel down to Rosalie. "Hey, Rosalie. How was your day?"

She grins. "It was fun. I made friends at snack time because I had a pudding cup and so did they!"

"Oh, that's great!" I answer, laughing a little.

She tugs on my sleeve. "Could we read again, later?" So she knows Soul will be late again? Odd. I answer her with a nod. "Of course we can." Then she runs back to her new friends and I'm off chasing Max, who's trying to put glue in another boy's hair.

.

Time passes quickly at daycare, and before I know it, parents are picking up their children. This time, when I tell Tsubaki I'll wait for Rosalie's brother, she wiggles her eyebrows and agrees without a protest. My eye twitches a little. _She's really getting the wrong idea here._

Rosalie and I settle down to read again. This time, she picks a book about flowers. Quite the varied tastes with this one. I try not to notice the way her hand waves absently above my arm as I read to her. By the time I've finished the book, she's fast asleep in my arms.

I hear the door jingle softly when Soul enters. I carefully maneuver around Rosalie so that she's sleeping in the bean bag chair, then make my way over to him. If I'm going to get to know him better, this is a good opportunity. He frowns at me, then visibly softens when he gazes down at Rosalie sleeping. "She's never fallen asleep on anyone else before..." he says quietly, almost to himself.

I meet him by the front desk, my hands clasped in front of me. I feel almost...nervous around this boy. His glow throws me off. But I set my gaze on him like I'm not afraid. To my surprise, he's the one that speaks first.

"So," he sighs, "Rosalie wanted me to apologize for what apparently qualified as 'rude' behavior yesterday." He glances over at Rosalie again, then narrows his eyes like she made a face or something. I turn around, but she's still asleep. Weird.

He continues, "I'm not the most personable, I suppose. And some of the daycares we've been to before, well. Rose says you're not like them." He looks me in the eyes. "She seems to like you. And she's pretty good at that stuff, so. I'm sorry."

What he's trying to say but doesn't is _I trust you_. Why does he seem so over-protective about her, though? I mean, I don't know their home situation at all, but I've never seen an older brother so aware of his little sister's feelings. Even apologizing because she wanted him to? Maybe he's not so rude after all. I feel my anger at him melting.

I smile at him and hold out my hand. "Hey, it's no big deal. I'm Maka. It's nice to meet you." He hesitates slightly, then shakes my hand. His hand is warm and soft. I try really hard not to blush.

"Um, there's more," he continues. "Rose wanted me to invite you over to dinner, you know, to make up for it or whatever. Seems a little extreme, but..." He trails off, clearly uncomfortable. I laugh and look back at Rosalie, who's still sleeping soundly on the bean bag chair. This girl could not have seen my crush after just a few minutes, could she? Anyway, there's no way I'm going to pass up an opportunity to see where they live, and find out more about them. I agree promptly. Soul heads over and picks Rosalie up so that she's slung on his back, then he motions for us to leave.

.

Outside, I look around for a car, but the parking lot is empty. Soul notices and coughs. "Uh, yeah, I walk here usually. Is that alright?"

"Of course," I respond quickly, hoping he doesn't think I'm too snotty to walk anywhere. "It's a beautiful night, anyway." And it is. The sun has just set behind the horizon, and out here in the suburbs, masses of stars are visible. There's a swift breeze that kicks up every once in a while, keeping me from feeling too warm while walking. We walk in silence, because I don't know what to say, but we don't want to wake Rosalie anyway, so it doesn't feel uncomfortable. Mostly, I gaze up at the sky, and Soul shuffles casually.

After a while, I notice we've walked several blocks out of the neighborhood, and are heading into Death City. Finally, we stop in front of a small but well-kept apartment complex in a quiet part of the city. I raise an eyebrow. _It doesn't exactly scream shady business..._

We head up the stairs and stop in front of a door labeled 2F. A "D" has been written in to the left of the 2, but scrubbed off. I don't get it. Soul lets me in to a living room that looks like it was hastily cleaned recently. The TV is half-dusted, a blanket is folded loosely on the couch, and I even notice some magazines shoved under the couch. I supress a laugh. Was this done for my visit? Soul pries Rosalie off his back and hands her to me, whispering "Her bedroom is down the hall on the left." I nod and hurry to put her to bed.

Her room is pretty empty, with only a bed, desk and dresser as furnishings. It's painted a plain beige, not a very little girly color. Maybe they haven't been here very long yet? Suddenly a stack of papers on the desk catches my eye. I walk over to the desk, which is illuminated by moonlight. When I look down at the papers, which are drawings Rosalie has done, I gasp audibly. They're pretty typical portraits an eight year old would draw. Some resemble Soul, some are other children and there are some I don't recognize. One girl with blond pigtails and emerald eyes strongly resembles me. But there's something on all the portraits that shouldn't, definitely shouldn't be there. We're all surrounded by colors. _The glows._ Soul's is red. Mine is green. I don't even notice Soul has entered the room until he tears the paper from my hand, wild fear in his eyes.

"This is noth-" He tries. I'm barely listening.

"She can see them." I whisper.

Soul stops, searching my eyes. He still looks terrified, like I'll suddenly rip Rosalie from her bed and take her away from him.

"How...?" He starts.

"She can see the glows..." I repeat. I turn to him and make a split second decision that I'm not sure my mother would be proud of. "So can I."

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**A/N A huge thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! Shout out to SymmetricalGirl8DeathTheKid for reviewing every chapter! Aww yeahhh. And to .water, I've taken note of your suggestion. I'm going to leave some mystery to Soul for a little longer (cough, because I haven't completely decided what his story is) and then I'll be writing some from his POV. So thanks!**

**As always, reviews with any commentary are totally appreciated! Please help me out :)**

**And thanks for reading!**


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